mattpocock-skills/skills/engineering/domain-modeling/CONTEXT-FORMAT.md

CONTEXT.md Format

Structure

# {Context Name}

{One or two sentence description of what this context is and why it exists.}

## Language

**Order**:
{A one or two sentence description of the term}
_Avoid_: Purchase, transaction

**Invoice**:
A request for payment sent to a customer after delivery.
_Avoid_: Bill, payment request

**Customer**:
A person or organization that places orders.
_Avoid_: Client, buyer, account

Rules

• Be opinionated. When multiple words exist for the same concept, pick the best one and list the others under _Avoid_.
• Keep definitions tight. One or two sentences max. Define what it IS, not what it does.
• Only include terms specific to this project's context. General programming concepts (timeouts, error types, utility patterns) don't belong even if the project uses them extensively. Before adding a term, ask: is this a concept unique to this context, or a general programming concept? Only the former belongs.
• Group terms under subheadings when natural clusters emerge. If all terms belong to a single cohesive area, a flat list is fine.

Single vs multi-context repos

Single context (most repos): One CONTEXT.md at the repo root.

Multiple contexts: A CONTEXT-MAP.md at the repo root lists the contexts, where they live, and how they relate to each other:

# Context Map

## Contexts

- [Ordering](./src/ordering/CONTEXT.md) — receives and tracks customer orders
- [Billing](./src/billing/CONTEXT.md) — generates invoices and processes payments
- [Fulfillment](./src/fulfillment/CONTEXT.md) — manages warehouse picking and shipping

## Relationships

- **Ordering → Fulfillment**: Ordering emits `OrderPlaced` events; Fulfillment consumes them to start picking
- **Fulfillment → Billing**: Fulfillment emits `ShipmentDispatched` events; Billing consumes them to generate invoices
- **Ordering ↔ Billing**: Shared types for `CustomerId` and `Money`

The skill infers which structure applies:

• If CONTEXT-MAP.md exists, read it to find contexts
• If only a root CONTEXT.md exists, single context
• If neither exists, create a root CONTEXT.md lazily when the first term is resolved

When multiple contexts exist, infer which one the current topic relates to. If unclear, ask.